


Women Like Us

by Oh_no_not_us



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Angst, Apologetic Pats, Attempted Fluff, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-16 03:19:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14155512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_no_not_us/pseuds/Oh_no_not_us
Summary: Patsy rejected Delia's invitation to a night out at Gateways. What happened to change her mind? How will she make it up to Delia?What happened is explored in this fic. Give it a go! Set during Season 5 Episode 7.





	1. Part 1 Mea Culpa

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever attempt at any fiction writing, I hope you enjoy it!  
> Comments are welcome!!

It’s never easy to buy just the right thing for the right person. But then again, Delia had always been gracious about every gift from Patsy. The big smile, those dimples, the blue eyes that shined ever more blue with the attention the ginger graced upon her. As their familiarity grew, Patsy searched for clues about what Delia really wanted. Sure she was vocal about yellow walls and modern patterns for china. But, finding discerning gifts to delight her girlfriend was hard to do.  
There was more of an imperative now to find a gift. She needed to apologize for rejecting a night out at the Gateways Club. Delia obviously had put some thought into going and Patsy was trying to understand why being with “women like us” mattered so much. Reclusivity and exclusivity had worked just fine for her until now, thank you very much.

Patsy searched for clues among the Welsh woman’s history, even from childhood stories the Busbys shared during that awful time at the hospital. Patsy wanted to connect those breadcrumbs of information to bring her to the just the right surprise.  
It was always awkward to go to a jeweler to find a gift for her girlfriend. What story to make up this time? She nearly had to reinvent the wheel to come up with a credible story to buy the ring and chain.  
Miraculously the rain had slowed and her last delivery had gone more smoothly than anticipated; she finished work early. So, she biked to Bethnal Green Road. There shouldn’t be anyone who knew her here. It was just far enough from Poplar to make her somewhat invisible. 

What inspiration would these jewelers have shining in their windows? A silver fob watch caught her eye. Delia would look at her gift throughout her work day. No one else the wiser to Patsy’s gift on her girlfriend’s chest. It might even make the Welshwoman smile and think of Patsy as she read the time with patient after patient. A girl could hope it would anyway. 

A replacement ring ? That would be trickier. And perhaps just too much a reminder of that fateful day when the original one was lost. 

Her mind was elsewhere as more than one east ender gave her the evil eye as she walked her bike on the pavement and zigzagged through the shoppers visiting the stalls. Even her uniform and the recognizable bike with leather satchel did nothing to protect her from the glares and harrumphs as she avoided trolley after trolley and nearly tripped children whose feet were in the way. 

The growling of her stomach brought her back to the here and now. As it happened, she was stood in front of Kelly’s. Patsy parked her bike, gave her order at the counter and sat at a bench with just one other person. She had just enough time to remove her cape and hat when the tea, pie and mash arrived at her table, steaming hot. After a few sips of tea and bites of an early lunch, she was able to take in her surroundings. 

Each table had a worn floral oil cloth cover and each bench was filled with damp patrons inside for the warmth and a quick, hearty meal. Some of the children played with their food as their mothers sighed, grateful for a place to rest away from the drizzle, and away from the noise of the barkers and shoppers negotiating purchases. Cockney voices filled the small room, but out of the din rose the welcome lilt of a Welsh voice. As he stood, Patsy observed the man who wore a coat, vest and a small scarf tied at the neck like the other men. All the men around him wore hats. It had been his cap that made him stand out from the others as she honed in on the accent.

It was then she remembered a story. A tale really, that Mr. Busby had shared at the hospital. Whether it was true or not didn’t matter. It had been a distraction from the horror of the accident.  
Warm from her lunch and memory, Patsy left the café and set off with an idea.

>>>>><<<<<

Delia was just a little girl and was in bed with a fever. After work that day, Mr. Busby went upstairs to sit with his sweet girl as she drifted in and out of her delirium. Her lips were purple and her face was white as the bed linens. Although he wasn’t sure she would be conscious for the story, he told her the tale of “Eva’s Luck”.

It was a short Welsh story of a girl who had been walking home and was frightened by a snake. When she got home, Eva told her mother. Her mother told Eva if she saw the snake again she should give it her handkerchief. The next day Eva saw the snake and she gave it her handkerchief. The snake slithered off with it. Eva ran home to tell her mother. The next day they went back where Eva last saw the snake go into its burrow. A man lit a fire to smoke out the snake and then killed it. When they dug out the hole, they found the handkerchief and a lot of gold.

Mr. Busby held Delia’s warm hand and wiped her arms and face with the wet flannel set aside for that purpose. Her eyes were closed and her breathing labored, but he kept on repeating and embellishing the tale.  
At the London, Mr. Busby was again holding her hand and watching a bed-ridden, confused Delia. He retold the story to his little girl whose face was now swollen and purple with bruises. Mrs. Busby stood nearby, tears falling on her cheeks. As Patsy listened, Mrs. Busby told her husband that all those years ago, after her fever had broken, Delia would ask over and over if they could go look for the snake and find a buried treasure of gold. Her mother told her no. That is not something that girls should do. When she came home from school and was asked why her dress was so dirty, Delia would say she was treasure hunting. She had been looking for the snake with her friends, digging into holes in the ground with sticks. Mrs. Busby told her not to go poking sticks into holes because, after all, that story was really about Eve, the apple and the devil. “You don’t want to poke at the Devil do you, girl!” Snakes didn’t frighten Delia, but the devil, well, Mrs. Busby knew that should put an end to the poking around and an end to the muddy dresses. 

“Of course, it didn’t stop her,” Mr. Busby shared as he laughed, but abruptly stopped as his mixed emotions filled his eyes with tears again.

>>>>><<<<<


	2. Apologetic Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does Patsy say I'm sorry? Let's find out!

Her purchase accomplished, Patsy returned to Nonnatus house. That evening the antenna had fallen from the roof and the telly was dead. Delia was working at the London. This left Patsy with the other midwives. In quiet, they each worked on their handicrafts or read, while waiting for the next call. 

Patsy picked up her project and continued. On one corner, in white silk thread, she embroidered P.M. Spools of coloured thread were there for her to finish the other three corners. But a furious knock on the door interrupted her plans.

When Patsy returned from the Blacker delivery, it was late and the storm was winding down. Trixie hadn’t returned yet and Delia wouldn’t be back until daylight. Patsy continued working on her project, determined to finish before then.

After her shift, Delia returned to Nonnatus. She freshened up and went to her room. It was apologetic Pats who knocked softly on her door with 2 cups of tea in hand. They exchanged smiles and sat side by side on Delia’s bed. 

They leaned into each other, shoulders touching. Delia could sense Patsy was steeling herself to say something. Instead of speaking, she handed Delia a small, flat box tied with blue ribbon. Knowing she needed to tread carefully, Delia asked, “What’s this, Patience?”

“I know you have your reasons for wanting to go to the Gateways Club. It was only after I soundly rejected the idea, that I realized how important it is to you. If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me. I’m sorry I didn’t consider how much being with women like us matters to you.”

Delia smiled, her dimples deepened and she pressed even closer into Patsy’s side. The ribbon fell to the floor and Delia lifted the lid to the box. Inside was a neatly folded lacey handkerchief with one corner displaying P. M. in a block font. She lifted that corner and exposed another corner which was embroidered with a fanciful D.B. in cornflower blue. Delia lifted that corner and smiled when she saw a yellow daffodil intertwined with a Tudor rose.

Delia lifted the third corner and was surprised to see what looked like a sidewinding brown and black snake and a very small branch on the final corner.

“Pats I’m enchanted by the interwoven flowers and our initials on this, but why would you add a snake?!”

“That’s not all that’s in the box, my love. But before you lift the handkerchief, let me explain…” Patsy shared the story Mr. Busby told during those dark days at the hospital. Delia nodded, momentarily looking grief-stricken at the worry and fear each of them felt during that time. When Patsy got to the part about the muddy dress and the devil, Delia’s lips upturned into the smile that melted Patsy’s heart every time.

Patsy reached over and lifted the handkerchief from the box. Delia then lifted a layer of white cotton wool, exposing a gold charm. It was a small gold snake, not unlike the one Patsy had lovingly sewn.

“I was rather hoping I might tempt you into accompanying me to the Gateways Club and wear this on your bracelet.”

Delia replied with a soft hum and a closed-lip smile. It was the first new charm for her to add to the charm bracelet since coming to London. The snake would share a special place among the others given to her by her parents over the years.

>>>>><<<<<

As Delia and Patsy walked down the steps of the club onto the dance floor, her bracelet jingled as Patsy twirled her and then held her close. 

Within moments they each knew that just being there, among women like them, mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Delia did indeed wear a charm bracelet to the Gateways club. Raise your hand if your parents started a charm bracelet for you! My hand's up! LOL


End file.
